AirTran's last flight from Sarasota is Saturday

AirTran Airways, the second-largest carrier at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, announced in January that it will end service at the airport on Aug. 11. AirTran accounts for 32 percent of passenger traffic at SRQ. (Jan. 20, 2012; Herald-Tribune staff photo by Mike Lang

Published: Friday, August 10, 2012 at 3:53 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 10, 2012 at 3:53 p.m.

Kenny Barr has flown AirTran Airways at least four times a year out of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on his way to a family farm in Illinois.

But the co-owner of the Sports Page bar and restaurant will be making other travel arrangements after Saturday, when AirTran ends its local service after nearly eight years.

"I feel bad," Barr said. "Now I'm stuck with Delta."

Flight 1062 to Atlanta, leaving at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, will be AirTran's final departure from Sarasota-Bradenton.

The airline has carried 3 million passengers in and out of the regional airport since arriving in December 2004.

The discount carrier helped resuscitate what was then a struggling airport, with a combination of lower fares and abundant routes that many analysts contend will never be replaced. Airport officials agree that while carriers such as Delta and United Airlines may add flights and overall seats on larger aircraft, AirTran's impact will largely disappear when it does.

"They were the first low-cost carrier of significant size to enter our market," said Fredrick "Rick" Piccolo, the airport's chief executive. "They had a great impact from a pricing standpoint, and it kind of rejuvenated our market. This is sadder than when other airlines have left."

AirTran started out with three daily flights eight years ago, and peaked with 10 during the winter seasons, serving key cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and Chicago.

It became the airport's second-largest airline, last year handling 365,000 passengers — or one in every three travelers.

But in January, Southwest Airlines, which bought AirTran last year, announced it would pull out of Sarasota-Bradenton and five other small U.S. airports. The Dallas-based airline cited spiraling fuel costs as a key factor.

"It was a very deliberate process internally," Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said this week. "It's just the economics of the current market, and that is everything from fuel to traffic, and how Sarasota-Bradenton fits into the network and the existing lift we provide to western Florida."

Both Southwest and AirTran will continue to fly into Tampa International Airport, which draws more than 1.4 million Sarasota-Manatee passengers a year, and to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.

One step forward

AirTran recently sent emails to local customers, encouraging them to fly the airline at other airports.

"I emailed them back and said, 'No, I won't,'" said Kerry Kirschner, executive director of Sarasota's Argus Foundation, a pro-business group. "It's like closing the local grocery store and moving 40 miles away and telling customers, 'Come see us there.' Give me a break."

Since the announcement of AirTran's departure, the airport has added new service from other carriers, recovering 95 percent of the seats it will lose, Piccolo says, though it will still miss out on direct service to several cities.

In June, JetBlue Airways added a flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Delta brought a new flight to Atlanta.

United, which left Sarasota-Bradenton in 1994, will return to launch a daily nonstop flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Nov. 4.

Delta has promised a double daily to LaGuardia beginning Dec. 15. The airport's busiest carrier also plans to adjust its schedule next year, so travelers coming from Baltimore or Pittsburgh can have same-plane service and shorter stops in Atlanta.

Two steps back

Losing AirTran's service to Baltimore was especially tough for local officials because the Baltimore Orioles baseball team holds spring training here each February and March.

Tourism officials in Sarasota and Manatee counties hoped AirTran's direct service would help attract a new raft of visitors from Charm City and its suburbs.

"The Baltimore situation is a little upsetting," Kirschner said. "But it's to the airport's credit that they've been able to capture so much new service so quickly."

Piccolo admits that AirTran's loss stings. He pursued the airline for about five years, visiting their then-headquarters in Orlando two or three times a year, and inundating executives with data showing the airline would be successful at Sarasota-Bradenton.

To sweeten its deal, the airport landed a $1.5 million federal grant — at the time the second-largest ever awarded — from a program aimed at helping small airports attract new service. The money subsidized AirTran's initial start-up and marketing costs.

Piccolo believes that the money was well spent — at 3 million passengers, it works out to about 50 cents per person over the years.

"This one was kind of a partnership," he said. "We got to know the people at AirTran very well. They took a risk, granted a mitigated risk, to come here, and it really worked.

"They created a new competitive situation here that not only allowed them to prosper but also brought in some new carriers and made some legacy carriers more competitive."

JetBlue, another discount carrier, followed AirTran in 2006. The two helped drive down fares and close the gap between prices at Tampa International.

"Back in those days there was still a more significant difference between legacy carriers and the low-cost carriers," Piccolo said. "Since that time, most legacy carriers have gone through bankruptcy and retooled to compete with the low-cost carriers."

Piccolo says he still doubts losing AirTran will translate into higher fares. Pricing has become more of an issue of supply — the amount of seats reserved at various fare tiers — than the airport, he says.

Kirschner recently used Expedia, the airline pricing website, to compare round-trip fares from Sarasota-Bradenton and Tampa to various cities. He found that most varied just $20 to $30, though Tampa did offer more nonstop flights.

"When you stop and think about gas, parking, time and everything else, it's ridiculous we should have so much leakage into Tampa," he said.

As one of Sarasota-Bradenton's signatory carriers, AirTran will continue to pay $500,000 per year in rent for two more years. That will help offset the loss of up to $1 million a year in landing and passenger fees and other revenue.

Airport officials expect to hear any day on a proposed $500,000 federal grant it would use to entice new service. The airport and the area's tourism promotion agencies will pitch in to bring the funding to $1 million.

Despite the loss of AirTran, Barr, the passenger who regularly travels to his family farm, says he will continue flying out of Sarasota-Bradenton.

"I use it 95 percent of the time when I travel," he said. "If I can get to Atlanta, I can get anywhere."

<p>Kenny Barr has flown AirTran Airways at least four times a year out of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on his way to a family farm in Illinois.</p><p>But the co-owner of the Sports Page bar and restaurant will be making other travel arrangements after Saturday, when AirTran ends its local service after nearly eight years.</p><p>"I feel bad," Barr said. "Now I'm stuck with Delta."</p><p>Flight 1062 to Atlanta, leaving at 5:40 p.m. Saturday, will be AirTran's final departure from Sarasota-Bradenton.</p><p>The airline has carried 3 million passengers in and out of the regional airport since arriving in December 2004.</p><p>The discount carrier helped resuscitate what was then a struggling airport, with a combination of lower fares and abundant routes that many analysts contend will never be replaced. Airport officials agree that while carriers such as Delta and United Airlines may add flights and overall seats on larger aircraft, AirTran's impact will largely disappear when it does.</p><p>"They were the first low-cost carrier of significant size to enter our market," said Fredrick "Rick" Piccolo, the airport's chief executive. "They had a great impact from a pricing standpoint, and it kind of rejuvenated our market. This is sadder than when other airlines have left."</p><p>AirTran started out with three daily flights eight years ago, and peaked with 10 during the winter seasons, serving key cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and Chicago.</p><p>It became the airport's second-largest airline, last year handling 365,000 passengers — or one in every three travelers.</p><p>But in January, Southwest Airlines, which bought AirTran last year, announced it would pull out of Sarasota-Bradenton and five other small U.S. airports. The Dallas-based airline cited spiraling fuel costs as a key factor.</p><p>"It was a very deliberate process internally," Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said this week. "It's just the economics of the current market, and that is everything from fuel to traffic, and how Sarasota-Bradenton fits into the network and the existing lift we provide to western Florida."</p><p>Both Southwest and AirTran will continue to fly into Tampa International Airport, which draws more than 1.4 million Sarasota-Manatee passengers a year, and to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.</p><p>One step forward</p><p>AirTran recently sent emails to local customers, encouraging them to fly the airline at other airports.</p><p>"I emailed them back and said, 'No, I won't,'" said Kerry Kirschner, executive director of Sarasota's Argus Foundation, a pro-business group. "It's like closing the local grocery store and moving 40 miles away and telling customers, 'Come see us there.' Give me a break."</p><p>Since the announcement of AirTran's departure, the airport has added new service from other carriers, recovering 95 percent of the seats it will lose, Piccolo says, though it will still miss out on direct service to several cities.</p><p>In June, JetBlue Airways added a flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Delta brought a new flight to Atlanta.</p><p>United, which left Sarasota-Bradenton in 1994, will return to launch a daily nonstop flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Nov. 4.</p><p>Delta has promised a double daily to LaGuardia beginning Dec. 15. The airport's busiest carrier also plans to adjust its schedule next year, so travelers coming from Baltimore or Pittsburgh can have same-plane service and shorter stops in Atlanta.</p><p>Two steps back</p><p>Losing AirTran's service to Baltimore was especially tough for local officials because the Baltimore Orioles baseball team holds spring training here each February and March.</p><p>Tourism officials in Sarasota and Manatee counties hoped AirTran's direct service would help attract a new raft of visitors from Charm City and its suburbs.</p><p>"The Baltimore situation is a little upsetting," Kirschner said. "But it's to the airport's credit that they've been able to capture so much new service so quickly."</p><p>Piccolo admits that AirTran's loss stings. He pursued the airline for about five years, visiting their then-headquarters in Orlando two or three times a year, and inundating executives with data showing the airline would be successful at Sarasota-Bradenton.</p><p>To sweeten its deal, the airport landed a $1.5 million federal grant — at the time the second-largest ever awarded — from a program aimed at helping small airports attract new service. The money subsidized AirTran's initial start-up and marketing costs.</p><p>Piccolo believes that the money was well spent — at 3 million passengers, it works out to about 50 cents per person over the years.</p><p>"This one was kind of a partnership," he said. "We got to know the people at AirTran very well. They took a risk, granted a mitigated risk, to come here, and it really worked.</p><p>"They created a new competitive situation here that not only allowed them to prosper but also brought in some new carriers and made some legacy carriers more competitive."</p><p>JetBlue, another discount carrier, followed AirTran in 2006. The two helped drive down fares and close the gap between prices at Tampa International.</p><p>"Back in those days there was still a more significant difference between legacy carriers and the low-cost carriers," Piccolo said. "Since that time, most legacy carriers have gone through bankruptcy and retooled to compete with the low-cost carriers."</p><p>Piccolo says he still doubts losing AirTran will translate into higher fares. Pricing has become more of an issue of supply — the amount of seats reserved at various fare tiers — than the airport, he says.</p><p>Kirschner recently used Expedia, the airline pricing website, to compare round-trip fares from Sarasota-Bradenton and Tampa to various cities. He found that most varied just $20 to $30, though Tampa did offer more nonstop flights.</p><p>"When you stop and think about gas, parking, time and everything else, it's ridiculous we should have so much leakage into Tampa," he said.</p><p>As one of Sarasota-Bradenton's signatory carriers, AirTran will continue to pay $500,000 per year in rent for two more years. That will help offset the loss of up to $1 million a year in landing and passenger fees and other revenue.</p><p>Airport officials expect to hear any day on a proposed $500,000 federal grant it would use to entice new service. The airport and the area's tourism promotion agencies will pitch in to bring the funding to $1 million.</p><p>Despite the loss of AirTran, Barr, the passenger who regularly travels to his family farm, says he will continue flying out of Sarasota-Bradenton.</p><p>"I use it 95 percent of the time when I travel," he said. "If I can get to Atlanta, I can get anywhere."</p>